Here’s Dyson’s Latest Invention: A $400 Hairdryer Called Supersonic

Dyson is known for blowing a lot of hot air — in the best possible sense — so it stands to reason that the British tech firm has now unveiled its first hairdryer, the Supersonic.

The Supersonic , which will cost a cool $400, uses a tiny air pump in its handle and, from the front, looks rather like Dyson’s “air multiplier” desk fan. From the side, if it doesn’t have any of its three magnetic attachments attached, it looks like a mallet.

The company, which also makes heaters and hand-dryers among other things, is stressing how quiet its first personal-care product is, thanks to a miniaturized motor. It also claims the Supersonic does not damage hair in the way that other hairdryers can.

Dyson says the Supersonic contains sensors that measure the air temperature 20 times each second, in order to stop it overheating. The attachments also have air vents to keep them cool.

James Dyson, the firm’s founder, told the BBC it was natural for Dyson to do more things with its high-speed motor technology: “It’s rather obvious that we would carry on and use that in everything involved in airflow.”

The Supersonic will go on sale in Japan first, before becoming more widely available later in the year (September in the U.S.) It’s certainly a pricey piece of equipment, coming in more expensive than most salon-grade hairdryers from other manufacturers.